Cork finance sector encouraged to stay on top of new technology

Cork’s financial sector has been urged to embrace “data analytics” to remain competitive.

Th CGMA (Chartered Global Management Accountant) “thought leadership conference” on big data will take place in the City on Saturday, 18 April.

The conference, held by CIMA Ireland in partnership with CIT, and sponsored by MC, will consider the conclusions of two recently published reports on preparing for, and the impact of, big data from the perspective of the Irish financial sector.

Peter Simon, Author of the CGMA reports, said: “Relentless advances in technology continue to drive new ways of doing business. So far, such advances have improved the prospects for Irish businesses and for those with higher level skills.

“However, the next wave may be different. With big data at its crest, it holds the potential to change how business opportunities are identified and how business decisions are made. CIMA has therefore identified the knowledge and skills which will create careers for finance professionals, including management accountants.”

The conference will be chaired by Bob Savage, Vice President and Managing Director of EMC Centres of Excellence EMEA, and feature talks from policy makers and academics, including Una Halligan, Chairperson of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs; and Dr Aisling O’Driscoll, from CIT’s Department of Computing.

Bob Savage, EMC, said: “Ireland is a major global tech hub, with a healthy ecosystem of multinational companies and government support for big data initiatives. Now more than ever for Irish businesses, having a data analytics strategy is vital to success in the global digital economy.

“For companies in Cork’s growing financial sector in particular, there are huge benefits in adopting data analytics, like granular insight into consumer behaviour and in-depth analysis of market trends. Having that additional information brings a real competitive edge to a business.”

Dr Aisling O’Driscoll, CIT, said: “Each year, billions of gigabytes of data are generated globally, an amount so large that it would require several hundred million desktop computers to store.

“Thanks to incredible advances in data science, we can capture, store and analyse this information to provide value in the real world. In Ireland, and indeed in Cork, there are myriad opportunities for businesses to take advantage of their collected data to increase efficiency, productivity and profit.

Conference details
Time: 2.00-4.30pm (registration and light refreshments from 1.30pm)
Date: Saturday, 18 April 2015
Venue: Cork Institute of Technology, Bishopstown, Cork
Cost: Free of charge to CIMA members and students, and their business colleagues and associates.

Bookings
(to include full name and organisation)
Contact: events.ireland@cimaglobal.com
+353 (0)1 6430410